Spurs confirm Routledge bid and target Mido

Tottenham have confirmed they have made a £1.5 million offer for Crystal Palace's winger Wayne Routledge and are trying to sign the Egyptian striker Mido on loan from Roma.

The club have also targeted Carlton Cole, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa from Chelsea, but will cool their interest if they can capture Mido, who is also interesting Southampton.

The Egyptian has found his chances in Seria A limited since he moved to Roma from Marseilles for £4.5 million last August, prompting him to lobby for a transfer.

The 21-year-old, who played at Ajax before moving to France, has a reputation for causing trouble, but Martin Jol, the Spurs head coach, said the label was unfair.

Jol, who wants cover for the injured Freddie Kanoute, said: "Mido was at Ajax and he was so good that he went to Marseille and he was so good they sold him.

"It was not about him being difficult, he was so good as a young player, clubs paid a lot of money for him. That is different."

Spurs have renewed their interest in Routledge after the 20-year-old rejected Palace's offer of a five-year contract worth a reported £12,000 a week.

Tottenham had a £3 million bid rejected last summer, but Palace may be forced to sell because they may not get as much money if they let a fee be decided by tribunal in the summer when Routledge's current deal expires.

Jol said: "We put an offer in for him. He is a very young and talented player so why not? I don't know how the situation is at the moment. The offer went in on Monday or Tuesday."

Tottenham's interest in Cole will be resisted by Villa, who are adamant that their contract with Chelsea prevents the striker being sold until the summer.

David O'Leary, the Villa manager, has bemoaned his lack of funds to bring in players in the transfer window and is keen to retain the players he has.